The turnaround in the housing market is really beginning to provide a boost to job growth and consumer spending. Even the region’s furniture industry is getting a boost.

Will that change over the next six months?

We think housing will actually strengthen in the next six months. Construction has likely been held back by the unseasonably wet weather. Stronger job growth will more than offset any worries about modestly higher mortgage rates.

Will rising interest rates affect the recovery?

The Federal Reserve has been pretty adamant that it will keep short-term interest rates right where they are until early- to mid-2015. Mortgage rates are likely headed higher, however, and will likely average between 4.5% and 4.75% during the second half of this year. We do not see this as a threat to the recovery, as rising interest rates are a byproduct of an improving economy.

How confident are you that the economy will continue to grow through 2013?

I feel confident that we will continue to see the uplift we have seen in last six months, but we may have periods of flatness, given recent comments on interest-rate increases.

Any caveats to that?

We may see the growth curve to be flat in the short term, but this will only be temporary due to the initial shock of both short- and long-term interest-rate rises. Long term, rising interest rates will elevate growth by curbing inflation.

How confident do you think business executives are that the economy is improving?

Most would say the economy today is better than it has been in the last four or five years. Consumers are more confident today. Home values are rising, the unemployment rate continues to decline and the stock market is going higher.

What aspect of the N.C. General Assembly’s tax-reform package will benefit small businesses most?

First, while the reduction of personal and corporate tax rates will help everyone, small business will feel a very positive impact of that change. Secondly, the reform package did not include any new taxes on services. Several of the (previous) proposals did include that, which would have been devastating to small businesses.

Anything in tax reform you think could stymie the recovery?

The increase in the tax on natural gas and electricity will be harmful to small-business owners. Most of them work on a very thin margin, and the increased cost of energy will (hurt) their bottom line. Also, the repeal of the tax deduction on the first $50,000 of income will have a huge impact. Several of our members said that deduction last year allowed them to hire a new employee, add hours to an existing employee or expand their business.